"NorthSide": Wards Involved and Approval Timeline

Reader Sara Collins shared with me her photographs of the slides shown by McEagle at last week's public meeting at Central Baptist Church. I am sharing them to help readers who were not present get a better sense of the project scope.

This slide shows the ward boundaries and project outline:



This slide shows the proposed timeline for approval of tax increment financing and a redevelopment ordinance (a pretty fast track):



More slides available online here.

Aldermen Talk About McEagle "Concept"

Yesterday the Beacon published an interesting article on the McEagle project by reporter Dale Singer. The article is relevant because it includes the most substantial remarks by aldermen April Ford-Griffin (D-5th) and Marlene Davis (D-19th) on the plan that I have read. Oddly, the article makes no mention of Alderman Kacie Starr Triplett (D-6th), whose ward includes a substantial part of the project's southern end, where development will likely begin.

The article also mentions the date and time of the next meeting on the plans, but does not indicate that the meeting will be open to the public or the press -- just a "wider audience."

That meeting will take place at 7 p.m. on Thursday, May 21 at Central Baptist Church (2842 Washington Avenue).

McEagle Land Acquisitions

McEagle Land Acquisitions, LLC was chartered on February 16.

Will the sundry LC's and LLC's involved in the "Blairmont" project begin selling to this company once the Distressed Area Land Assemblage Tax Credit Act is passed?

McKee's Project by the Numbers

Paul J. McKee Jr.'s northside holding companies own somewhere between 100-400 acres of the JeffVanderLou, St. Louis Place and Old North St. Louis neighborhoods -- not over 1,000 as has been often stated. That's just bad math with no source.

However, 100 acres is a huge amount of land in an urban area. The two largest vacant sites in the city are the 40-acre Carondelet Coke site at the southeast corner of the city and the 33-acre Pruitt-Igoe site near the intersection of Cass and Jefferson avenues. Those sites are just about the right size for large urban development.

Perhaps the urban land acquisition tax credits now part of the pending Quality Jobs Act in the Missouri legislature could have reduced the minimum size from 75 acres to 30, with a cap of 75 acres. That seems like a reasonable change given the confusion and fear over the size of McKee's project. That range would guarantee smaller projects where community consensus would be easier to build. McKee's assemblage effort shows the difficulty of achieving consensus for projects on the scale that he apparently envisioned when he started.

Landbanking Amendment Sails Through Senate Committee

Yesterday, amid the local smokescreen of "land trust", the Griesheimer amendment to the Quality Jobs Act (SB 282) unanimously passed the Economic Development, Tourism & Local Government Committee of the Missouri Senate.

Here is the available summary (full text has not been publicly released):

This act creates the distressed areas land assemblage tax credit program, administered by the department of economic development. Tax credits issued under the distressed area land assemblage tax credit act, are non-refundable, fully transferrable [sic] income, corporate franchise, and financial institutions, tax credits. Tax credits issued under the act will be equal to fifty percent of the acquisition costs for the land, and one hundred percent of the interest costs. The tax credit program is capped at one hundred million dollars and the total amount of tax credits issued annually is limited to twelve million dollars.

Numerous St. Louis citizens sent letters and made phone calls urging senators to delay the vote until there could be more local discussion, especially in the areas of north St. Louis currently affected by the "Sheridan Place" (or "Blairmont") land acquisition project Sen. John Griesheimer used to justify the new credits.

As far as this writer knows, the only reply came from the office of Sen. Wes Shoemyer (D-18th), who inserted a citizen letter in the floor book for the bill. The St. Louis delegation was unusually silent on this very local matter.

Comments in the press from Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder and Mayoral Chief of Staff Jeff Rainford made no mention of the hurry to pass this bill and the lack of citizen input, or the silence of St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay in the face of impending physical and social upheaval hitting the near northside of his city.

McEagle Contributed to Griesheimer

The People for John Griesheimer, campaign committee for State Senator John Griesheimer (R-Washington), on November 6, 2006 accepted a $650.00 contribution from O'Fallon-based McEagle Properties LLC. (This is found in the committee's 30 Days After Election filing dated December 2, 2006.)

Griesheimer has introduced an amendment to the Quality Jobs Act (SB 282) that would create a $100 million state tax credit for land acquisition projects of more than 75 acres in the city of St. Louis. According to Griesheimer, a developer from St. Charles County is interested in the credits for a project in north St. Louis.

McEagle Properties has ties to an acquisition project in north St. Louis that already controls over 100 acres in the JeffVanderLou, St. Louis Place and Old North St. Louis neighborhoods.

Blairmont Site Assembly Heading to the Long Final March

Has Paul McKee's Blairmont juggernaut slowed? Not likely. However, word on the street is that they various active purchasing companies -- including Sheridan Place LC, MLK 3000 LLC and Dodier Investors LLC -- are making contracts with close dates as far off as May. The hold-up may be due to capital flow issues, or perhaps it's a strategic timing to avoid greater scrutiny in the wake of recent publicity.

If the hold-up is due to lack of working capital, that is not difficult to understand. A scan of their last day of recorded deeds, January 24, shows four sales totaling $333,500.00.

These purchases are a house and lot at 2219-21 Benton Street with a deed of trust for $80,500.00, a house at 2545 Warren Street ($86,250.00), a house at 2507 North Market ($92,000) and a house at 2911 James Cool Papa Bell.

These prices are very high for older homes in the St. Louis Place and JeffVanderLou neighborhoods, but there's good reason for the elevated prices: these four homes were occupied and maintained up to date of the sale. No doubt, the families that owned and occupied these homes were not about to sell out their little acre for pittance, even in the face of the usual rumor-mongering Blairmont's agents have been caught perpetrating.

As the Blairmont machine heads onward in the later stages of site assembly for the "bulldoze the ghetto" project, the last remaining properties are owned by reluctant owners, unyielding owners and unknowing owners. Now that the machine is trying to buy hold-outs and hard-to-locate owners, we may be witnessing the greatest displacement of residents since this whole messy business started in 2002. In the first few years, when few realized the plot, Blairmont purchased properties at sheriff's tax sales and bought vacant land and buildings. Then, the agents began soliciting sales and picked up properties owned by folks ready to sell. They also began making inroads with public agencies, including purchase of the old Benton School site at 2333 Benton from the Board of Education and a disposition from the Public Administrator's office.

Now, all that is left are people who own property that they have intended to maintain as residences and businesses. Now, all that is left is a full-on assault against the strongest parts of near northside neighborhoods. That, and a grab for the crucial public lands.

What will our political leaders say as hundreds of northside residents are displaced and a tremendous public land-grab is planned? So far, they are mostly silent.

Blairmont's Associates Giving to Both Shrewsbury and Reed

The two candidates for president of the Board of Aldermen have reported campaign contributions related to the "Blairmont" effort.

According to his 40 day before the primary election filing, Jim Shrewsbury received $750.00 from Eagle Realty Company on November 10, which represents the Blairmont family of companies. In fairness, Eagle Realty Company does appraisal work for the St. Louis Development Corporation and the Land Reutilization Authority and may have other cause to make this donation.

In his report, Lewis Reed shows that he raised in one day an astounding $4,000 in contributions from companies related to developer Paul J. McKee, Jr. including one of the Blairmont holding companies. On December 7, 2006 the following companies connected to McKee donated $1000 each: Create, LLC; Havenwood, LLC; Boardwalk Corporate Centre LLC; and Allston Alliance, LC. Allston Alliance LC is one of the Blairmont holding companies, owning the Cass Avenue Schnucks site; its registered agent is John Steffen, head of the Pyramid Companies. (On Reed's report, Allston Alliance lists a return address of 906 Olive Street, Suite 600, same as the Pyramid Companies.) While Steffen's role is unclear, McKee reported a 30% ownership stake in Allston Alliance LC. Also in fairness, McKee is chairman of BJC Healthcare that is seeking to renegotiate its lease of part of Forest Park. Shrewsbury opposes that renegotiation.

While these contributions may not amount to influence, they should be noted. The silence by public officials and candidates on the "Blairmont" project is notable. The private control of an entire ward's future should be of utmost concern to all elected officials, since such control ultimately threatens the role of government to shape development to be responsible both to city residents and to existing law.

Blairmont Commentary Review

The Actors - Douglas Duckworth (Random Talk on Urban Affairs, January 17): Duckworth examines the possible development perspectives involved with the plot to landbank the near northside.

McEagle's plans for McHousing on the Near North Side? (At Home blog, January 10): I don't know why I neglected to point this out last week. Hopefully y'all read it already. Stefene Russell and company make this blog, companion to At Home magazine, more timely than most of our readers would be inclined to think.

"Faith, family, desire to build"

Faith, family, desire to build drive Paul J. McKee, the chief executive officer of McEagle Properties Inc. - Shane Anthony (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 28)

The article doesn't mention McKee's connections to the Blairmont scheme that has destabilized the near northside of the city. Then again, McKee denies any connection, so perhaps there is none.

Deadline for Sale of Clemens House Is Today

Readers may recall that on February 10, St. Louis Circuit Court Judge Lisa Van Amburg dismissed without prejudice a lawsuit by the Building Division against Blairmont Associates Limited Corporation over that company's neglect of the Clemens House. The dismissal was based upon an agreement between Blairmont and the City Counselor's office that gave the absentee owners 90 days to sell the house or face re-filing of the suit.

The 90-day deadline is May 10, today.

Blairmont still owns the Clemens House. Unless a last-minute sale has yet to be reported, Blairmont has failed to meet the terms of the agreement. Hopefully the City Counselor's Office will not fail to meet their terms and will re-file the case.

If rumors that Blairmont is a front for McEagle Development and/or the Pyramid Companies are true, one wonders why they would continue to show such reckless attention-getting behavior. Then again, aside from a handful of blogs, who is reporting on Blairmont or the Clemens House? The Post-Dispatch published one article by Jake Wagman in December but has been silent ever since.